LAUSD board meets to discuss superintendent following FBI searches, extends session to Friday

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board met in a closed meeting for almost four hours Thursday to discuss the superintendent’s employment, one day after FBI searches of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho's home and office.

The board ultimately recessed until Friday afternoon.

“The district continues normal operations across all schools and offices,” read a statement from the board posted online. “We are grateful to our dedicated employees, families and students for their steady focus and commitment to our school communities.”

The reason for the searches is unknown, although they have been the subject of widespread speculation. A Department of Justice spokesperson said the agency had a court-authorized warrant but declined to provide additional details. The FBI told LAist media partner CBS LA that the underlying affidavit remained under court-ordered seal.

A spokesperson for the FBI in Miami confirmed Wednesday’s L.A. searches are linked to a search of a South Florida home the same day. That property, first identified by local media outlets, belongs to a woman associated with the company LAUSD contracted with to create a short-lived AI tool.

The district published a statement Wednesday saying it was “cooperating with the investigation, and we do not have further information at this time.” The district declined to make a representative available to LAist’s public affairs program AirTalk and reiterated the same statement.

The public had an opportunity to address the board before the closed session began.

“We have come here to advocate every single time to tell you that there is no transparency,” parent Diana Guillen said.

What we know about AllHere, the maker of LAUSD's AI tool

Property records show the South Florida property searched Wednesday belongs to Debra Kerr. According to bankruptcy filings, Kerr was a contractor for ed-tech company AllHere. LAist reached out to Kerr via a number listed on business records, but has not heard back.

Federal authorities have not connected AllHere to Wednesday’s investigation.

Los Angeles Unified approved a $6.2 million contract with AllHere in June 2023 to develop a tool that would create an “individual acceleration plan,” using district data and featuring an artificial intelligence chatbot.

LAUSD debuted “Ed” the following March as a "personal assistant" to students that would point them toward mental health resources and nudge students who were falling behind.

Within three months of its debut, the company behind Ed, AllHere, furloughed the bulk of its staff and its CEO was later charged with fraud. The district defended the process it used to debut the chatbot, which cost $3 million.

Parents and educators demanded transparency after the district shut down the chatbot.

Many questions remain

Outside Koreatown’s Wilton Place Elementary School and Wilton Place Early Education Center, parents interviewed by LAist on Thursday morning either weren't aware of the investigation into Carvalho or said they didn't yet know how it would affect their children’s classroom experience.

The response was similar in the Facebook group Parents Supporting Teachers.

“We just want to know what this is all about,” teacher Jennifer Turner said. “There have been lots of discussions about possibilities, though.”

The moderators of the 30,000-plus-member parent education and advocacy group issued a statement Wednesday calling on the Board of Education to immediately appoint an interim superintendent.

“We strongly believe the district’s first obligation is to protect students and families from any additional harm or disruption that may result from an investigation of this magnitude,” the statement read. “LAUSD’s advocacy for students’ rights must continue without distraction, instability or erosion of public trust.”

The federal investigation comes at a time when LAUSD is financially strained, cutting hundreds of jobs and facing pressure from the district’s largest labor unions to settle new contracts.

“We call on the LAUSD Board of Education to provide immediate, transparent and honest communication to LAUSD employees and the public,” the district’s labor union for staff, SEIU Local 99, said in a social media statement Wednesday.

Carvalho has been superintendent of LAUSD since 2022, and the board unanimously renewed his contract in 2025. Prior to coming to L.A., Carvalho had worked for the Miami-Dade County school district for decades, 30 years as a teacher and the last 14 years as the district's supervisor.

Carvalho's time at LAUSD has included a number of wins for the district, including gains in test scores and participation in AP classes.

Producer Kevin Tidmarsh and senior editor Ross Brenneman contributed to this story.